Rebel Justice
What is justice? Who does it serve? Why should you care?
When we think about justice, we think about it as an abstract, something that happens to someone else, somewhere else. But justice and the law regulate every aspect of our interactions with each other, with organisations, and with the government.
We never think about it until it impacts our lives, or that of someone close.
Our guests are women with lived experience of the justice system whether as victims or women who have committed crimes; or people at the forefront of civic action who put their lives on the line to demand a better world..
We ask them to share their insight into how we might repair a broken and harmful system, with humanity and dignity.
We also speak with people who are in the heart of the justice system creating important change; climate activists, judges, barristers, human rights campaigners, mental health advocates, artists and healers.
Rebel Justice
91. Tanya’s Story: Coercive Control, Corrupted Care, and the Search for Justice
A delivery driver calls 999 after witnessing an assault, yet the woman with bruises becomes the suspect. That reversal sets the tone for a story that forces us to confront how easily credibility flips when a vulnerable person meets a tired system. We walk through Tanya’s account of years of coercive control, forced isolation, surveillance, alleged interference with medical records, and symptoms that vanished the moment she was jailed, and ask why those red flags didn’t trigger safeguards. Along the way, we unpack data from watchdogs and NGOs on custody failures, the scarcity of appropriate adults, and the rising number of detainees with mental health concerns, grounding one woman’s experience in a troubling national picture.
Domestic Abuse Support Helplines
UK
- National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge): 0808 2000 247 – Free, 24/7, confidential.
- Women’s Aid Live Chat: chat.womensaid.org.uk
– Daily 8am–6pm. - Men’s Advice Line: 0808 801 0327 – Support for male victims.
US
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) – Free, 24/7, confidential.
- RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network): 1-800-656-4673 – 24/7 support for sexual assault survivors.
Credits
Actors: Kamilla Gregorovitch & Daria Belova
Producers: Charlotte Janes & Leyla Aranir
Soundtrack: Particles (Revo Main Version) by [Coma-Media]
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You're listening to Rebel Justice, the podcast from The View magazine. When we think about justice, we think about it as an abstract, something that happens to someone else, somewhere else. But justice and the law regulate every aspect of our interactions with each other, with organizations, and with the government. We never think about it until it impacts our lives or those of someone close. Our guests are women with lived experience of the justice system, whether as victims or women who have committed crimes, people at the forefront of civic action who put their lives on the line to demand a better world. We ask them to share their insight into how we might repair a broken and harmful system with humanity and dignity. We also speak with people who are in the heart of the justice system, creating important change. Judges, barristers, human rights campaigners, mental health advocates, artists and healers. In this episode, we're bringing you the story of Tanya Freak, a woman currently remanded in prison, whose case raises urgent questions about how vulnerable people are treated by the justice system in England and Wales. Tanya's words and the evidence we've seen reveal a story of alleged manipulation, neglect, and systemic failure. Our goal in this episode is not only to tell her story but also to place it in the broader context of how vulnerable defendants can be let down by the institutions meant to protect them.
Tanya (Actor):My name is Tania Freak. I've been married for 16 years and have two children. I'm currently facing charges that I deny. My husband has manipulated events to incriminate me, seeking custody of our daughter and our business and house assets. I believe he has even tampered my food and drink, causing memory loss, anxiety, and vomiting. What I experienced at home I thought were panic attacks, but since being in prison I've had none of these symptoms.
Host:Tanya describes a shocking turn of events, an arrest in which her own bruises were ignored.
Tanya (Actor):On the day of my arrest, I was the one who had been hurt and assaulted by my husband. The Yokadu delivery driver had called 999 because of what he had witnessed, but the police ignored my bruises. They had also ignored previous calls to 999 from my neighbor when I had asked them to help me.
Host:Tanya recounts years worth of abuse at the hands of her husband, Steve.
Tanya (Actor):My husband made me leave my job in order to start a family. I was working in the home from 2009 until my arrest in the summer of 2024. I had no human contact with anyone outside of my husband and my family. He made our family move home six times between 2009 and 2015, which was never our choice. He controlled the home's finances and decisions. We never had a choice in anything. I couldn't go back to my home country and even missed my grand's funeral. My husband had an affair with a sex worker, which I found over 700 emails for. I started to develop really concerning health symptoms. This included severe disorientation, vomiting, anxiety, sweating, nightmare, hot flashes, nausea, paranoia, shaking and um insomnia. This all progressively got worse and started at the same time that my husband began recording videos of me. My husband claimed I had mental health issues. I think he wanted me to be committed to a mental health facility. My husband tampered with my health records, he contacted my GP behind my back and never left my side during GP appointments so that he could talk over me. I think I think my husband was drugging me in order to record uh the provocative videos of me.
Host:Tanya was prescribed propanolol and later amatryptylin. She only took one or two pills. Before experiencing severe side effects, her husband put the medication in his safe. But despite this, she progressively began to experience the same symptoms up until the day of her arrest. All symptoms have disappeared since she has been in prison. One of the few people Tanya could speak to, her mother, had to also bear witness to the abuse.
Tanya's Mother (Actor):I did not always like the behavior of Steve Freak. He spoke badly about people. He likes to make fun of and turn on a person. Lately he especially liked to turn on my daughter. I didn't like that he drank alcohol every night after dinner, starting with beer and ending with vodka until eleven or midnight. He often got heavily drunk every day, saying that it was relaxing. I considered him an alcoholic. He would often stagger in to the bedroom. He would say nasty things to my daughter, running in until she answers. Then he calls the children in to say what a bad mum she is. There were cases when he fell and hit the floor hard, and one day he came home with a cut head. Their daughter treated his wound. He showed me photos of bruises, trying to blame my daughter. In the house the floor was heated. Steve set the highest temperature and taped them, even in his daughter's bedroom. Not only the family members suffered, but the dogs, who were sleeping on the floor, were suffocating. When my daughter and Steve celebrated a recent wedding anniversary, my daughter called me and said she had fallen hard and was in the hospital. She said that Steve pushed her and put his foot up to make her fall. But in the morning, he convinced her that she was drunk and fell. But I know what happened, as I spoke to her after she was hurt. In the morning, he likes to take my granddaughter to school and bring his wife a large bouquet of roses and tells her how much he loves her and that she is the best wife in the world. But he wrote to me that he had been collecting dirt on my daughter for three years. The worst part is he forces the children to take part in this. He asked my granddaughter to film his wife on the phone. He convinced my grandson, who I raised from the cradle, that his mother is a monster and a terrible person, and that I, his grandmother, is stupid. When my grandson told me that, it broke my heart. After all that, my daughter had terrible panic attacks two to three times a week. She couldn't even drink water or talk. She was constantly sick. Steve says she drank alcohol every day, which is a lie. I know that I interfered with Steve and his plans. When I tried to calm him down, he pushed me away. He brought me a ticket and sent me to Belarus. I think Steve is trying to get rid of my daughter. He got rid of his first wife, calling her an alcoholic, and another woman. He gets rid of all the women who have become boring and unnecessary to him. He got rid of me, and then I couldn't stop his plans to get rid of my daughter. I regret that I cannot be with my daughter and grandchildren right now. I wouldn't let this happen, but I had a mini stroke and so can't leave for health reasons. I have only one daughter. She is my only support and hope.
Host:Tanya was first arrested on the 21st of August 2024. One of the charges was assault against her husband. An Ocado driver had dialed 999 after witnessing the event, and he later made a statement detailing how Tanya was the victim of the assault. On the way to the station, Tanya also told police how her husband had abused her. However, the police ignored both Tanya and the witness's statement, believing instead the story of her husband, Steve.
Tanya (Actor):I believe my husband made many false accusations against me in order to control his narrative to justify the recorded videos of me. I believe he wanted to avoid being arrested himself, as he had the funeral of his mother to attend.
Host:At the station, an officer took photos of Tanya's injuries but never investigated them. When Tanya asked, When can I go home? the same officer laughed at her. Tanya spent two nights in police custody. When she was released and her bag and ID was returned to her, she was given somebody else's phone. It was her yellow phone case, but not her phone. Not only did this leave Tanya stranded, but her phone contained any evidence to disprove her husband's allegations, as well as years of family photos and videos. Tanya now had no phone to contact anyone, and no money, so went to the only safe place she could think of, her neighbour's house. This meant breaking her bail conditions by returning to the area near her home. Tanya was then rearrested by the same officer for possession of an offensive weapon, scissors. But the police report even says, due to no scissors being found on her person, and so she was de-arrested, only to be rearrested again for breach of bail conditions. The police report calls Tanya slightly intoxicated, stating she was sweating profusely and very confused. But an intoxication report or drug test was never reported.
Tanya (Actor):In custody, I was denied basic dignity. I was refused toilet paper, laughed at for my clothes, and taunted for my accent. Staff called me smelly Tanya after days without being allowed to wash. Officer switched off my emergency buzzer when I had panic attacks. I uh I felt stripped of humanity.
Host:Tanya's mental health was at an extreme low. She experienced panic attacks, insomnia, and later a mental breakdown for the first time in her life. She was hospitalized at South Mead Hospital. The hospital medicated her with diazepam, meaning she would spend her upcoming court date heavily medicated. The prison and medical staff also never performed a mental or physical health risk assessment, instead, diagnosing her with alcoholic hallucinations, but Tanya was not under the influence of alcohol. Tanya's testimony is not an isolated complaint. Reports from watchdogs and NGOs consistently highlight failings in the duty of care towards detainees with mental health needs. The National Appropriate Adult Network found that fewer than 20% of vulnerable detainees, including those with mental illness or learning disabilities, received the legally required support of an appropriate adult. Thousands each year go without it. Tanya describes severe distress during her time in custody, yet received little meaningful support. National data reveals that in 2023 to 24 there were 24 deaths in or after police custody in England and Wales. Of those, 19 involved people with known mental health concerns, the highest number in 17 years. Inquest, the NGO monitoring state-related deaths, has said that this shows that things are getting worse. One study of detainees found that a third showed psychiatric symptoms, 42% needed medical treatment after arrest, and more than half had prior mental health service contact. Tanya's account of insomnia, panic attacks, and a breakdown is consistent with these wider findings. Yet she describes being mocked rather than helped.
Tanya (Actor):When I begged for basic needs to be met, they called me princess. I was heavily medicated on Diazepam and sent to represent myself before a judge without my lawyer. Nobody assessed my capacity. Nobody checked what substances I might have been given. I'm not an alcoholic, I do not take drugs, but they labelled me as though I was.
Host:Her story echoes reports of detainees wrongly diagnosed with alcohol withdrawal or drug-related conditions without proper investigation. Tanya suspects her husband deliberately drugged her to weaken her credibility, but no toxicology tests were done to confirm or refute this. In March 2025, Tanya pleaded guilty to charges that she says she did not fully understand. She believed that she was pleading guilty to four counts, only to later discover that seven charges were recorded against her. Distressed, under pressure, and without clear legal advice, she says that she was unable to defend herself. This is part of a wider systemic issue. Research shows that vulnerable people are often pressured into rushed guilty pleas. Teased University defines vulnerability broadly, including mental illness, young age, language barriers, and social pressure, all factors present in Tanya's case. Fair trials and LSE research have shown that defendants are sometimes given mere minutes to decide on a plea, often under the pressure of prolonged custody. Psychological research confirms that innocent people do sometimes plead guilty under pressure, fearing harsher sentences if they resist. When Tanya stood in court, overwhelmed and without adequate guidance, it is easy to see how her vulnerability could have been exploited by a system that prioritizes speed over justice. Tanya believes that she received ineffective legal support for her trial. In addition to not being made aware of the additional free charges that she was pleading guilty to, her lawyers never mentioned the missing or tampered with phone in court hearings. Domestic abuse specialists often warned that manipulative partners may use systems like the police or courts as tools of coercive control. Tanya believes this is what had happened to her. She points to her husband's alleged interference with her medical records, his prior divorce under similar circumstances, and his push for full custody of their daughter.
Tanya (Actor):He's determined to get rid of me.
Host:Tanya's case is ongoing, but her story highlights systemic failures that cannot be ignored. The rushed and pressured guilty plea process, the failure to support vulnerable detainees, the neglect of duty of care in custody, and the use of the system itself as a weapon of control. These are not just Tanya's battles, they are part of a wider crisis of justice, health, and accountability. Tanya is clear. She wants her voice heard, her case properly investigated, and her rights respected. If you or someone you know has experienced domestic violence and abuse, you are not alone. And sources for help are available in the show notes. You've been listening to Rebel Justice. If you'd like to support our work and receive four digital editions and one print issue a year, subscribe to the View for just £20. Make sure to follow us on our social media. We're on Instagram at t he_view_ magazines. And you can also find us on LinkedIn, X, and TikTok. If you'd like to reach out to us directly, you can email inquiries to us at press@theview magazine.org. Please share this story.